Wfyr, Wbbm Cruise For Morning-drive Deejays

March 21, 1985|By Eric Zorn.

WFYR (FM 103.5) and WBBM-FM (96.3) are in the market for new morning air personalities to replace the temporary jocks on the air.

WFYR is entertaining a team of two male broadcasters who, if hired, will work closely with traffic reporter Brooke Belson. New general manager Dick Rakovan is very high on Belson`s talents and has indicated she will take on an expanded personality role in the future. Shades of Val Stouffer.

--now in the midday slot on WLS-AM (AM 890)--to take over its morning-drive show. Winston, however, is just starting the third year of a five-year deal with WLS and probably is unavailable, so look for a Winston-esque jock (i.e., one with some adult, female appeal) in WBBM-FM`s future.

-- Did WAGO switch too soon? That was the question in radio circles this week when the Arbitrend monthly ratings update came out and showed that the pop station perked up dramatically just before giving up the ghost and changing to album rock WCKG (FM 105.9).

The consensus is that while WAGO was indeed on the move as a hit music station, it really wasn`t moving fast enough with the right audiences and probably stands a much better chance in the album rock arena.

The other big story in the overall Arbitrends is an ominous slide downward for WKQX (FM 101.1). It could be, as some think, that the station is starting to pay for the mismatch between its rockin` top-40 music and the adult-oriented approach of its air personalities.

-- Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, afternoon drive duo on WLS-AM, pulled an astounding 7.9 percentage share of the average audience in Arbitrends, indicating that they are going to be even more popular on AM than they were on FM. The station is sending them off on yet another exotic remote broadcast, this one Monday, live from the site of the Academy Awards ceremony.

It`s looking more and more likely that Dahl and Meier will come to terms with WLS for another long-term contract when their current pact expires next February.

It`s hard to say, however, who will own WLS AM and FM next February. ABC now owns the stations, but Capital Cities agreed to buy out ABC on Monday in a publicized $3.5 billion deal. Current Federal Communications Commission rules prohibit a company from owning both radio and TV stations in the same city, with the only exceptions being situations such as WLS, WBBM, WMAQ and WGN in Chicago, where the owning companies held title to both radio and TV properties before the new rules were put into place.

A spokesman for the FCC Policy and Rules division said he was unsure whether Capital Cities would be able to hold onto both WLS-TV and WLS radio in Chicago.

-- Air personalities Terri Hemmert of WXRT (FM 93.1), Yvonne Daniels of WGCI-AM (1390) and Nancy Turner of WMAQ (AM 670) will discuss women`s role in radio at 10:30 p.m. Thursday on ``Chicago Tonight`` with host John Callaway on WTTW-Ch. 11.

-- Thursday marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and fine arts station WFMT (FM 98.7) will celebrate with a multifaceted, all-day tribute. Classical station WNIB (FM 97.1) will feature Bach from 6 to 8 a.m., 5 to 8 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m.

-- Newly transplanted midday talk show host Dave Baum (WIND, AM 560) is sounding better than ever. He`s taking advantage of his new time slot to play directly off the news, and the show jumps with immediacy.

-- Adult pop station WMET (FM 95.5) added the morning news team of Bill Larson and Jan Jeffries to its air lineup this week. This Jan Jeffries is not the same Jan Jeffries who was program director and 10 a.m.-noon deejay until recently on WAGO, but a totally different Jan Jeffries. Fact is, neither gentleman is really named Jan Jeffries at all. Jan Jeffries is just one of those radio names that get around a lot.

-- Right-wing firebrand Warren Freiberg of WLNR (FM 106.3) returned to the air part-time this week for the first time since he suffered a stroke in late February. The fate of Freiberg`s controversial morning talk show is uncertain now that Johnson Publishing Co., owner of black-oriented WJPC (AM 950), has agreed to purchase WLNR.

-- Making hay with the hits, as it were, WBBM-FM this last weekend gave away ``USA for Africa`` T-shirts in honor of the exceedingly popular ``We Are the World`` charity song. At the same time, the station donated $4,500 in the name of its listeners to hunger relief.

-- One of the more provocative discussion programs of the year promises to be Tuesday`s edition of ``Extension 720`` (9-11 p.m., WGN AM 720). The topic question will be ``What evidence is there for the traditional story of Jesus Christ`s life?`` Guests will include a couple of well-educated skeptics.